Interview with the Executive Director, Bruce Robinson

Bruce Robinson

Executive Director,
BMI The Hampshire Clinic

Motivating, challenging and supporting people are what being an executive director is all about.

Bruce, can you tell us a little about yourself, background and current role?

I have worked within the healthcare industry, both veterinary and human health for over 40 years. I currently support BMI The Hampshire Clinic as executive director having joined as an interim three years ago, but enjoyed the people and the service proposition so much, that I have stayed.

I am fairly straight forward and simple in my approach – what you see is what you get. I like working with multi-disciplinary teams and I like to see pace and a sense of momentum, energy and enthusiasm in people. I am a strong believer in work/life balance. There are times when you have to work very hard – but you need to keep your family life and work life in a sensible balance.

I believe that helps you achieve the best, both at home and at work. I have worked in many different countries, all varying in roles and have always thoroughly enjoyed the diversity and challenges that those roles have presented.

Describe a typical day/week at BMI The Hampshire Clinic for you?

'Never a dull moment' perhaps best summarises my time leading BMI The Hampshire Clinic. Myself and the leadership team are constantly kept on our toes by focusing on the priorities both short and long term. I may be answering an e-mail or overseeing a £2.4 million investment into our new endoscopy unit – it’s as varied as that!

What unites us all on a daily basis is the 300 people who work here and the 52,000 patients that come through the door each year. We share a common purpose - the aspiration to be a key player in the largest network of quality acute care hospitals in the UK and to be recognised as a leading provider of complex surgical procedures and medical services and a hospital that attracts the best consultants, best staff, delivering the best possible outcomes.

Our typical day/ work is linked to our biggest priorities for the year:

Our customers and patients and improving the experience they have of our services

Our people, who ultimately determine the quality of the service we deliver

Continuing to improve our financial results, because only by doing this do we have funds to reinvest in our people and our customer care

What aspects of your role do you enjoy the most?

Working with great people and delivering exceptional outcomes. Motivating, challenging and supporting people are what being an executive director is all about.

If there was one theme I had to choose as the most enjoyable part of my job, it would be how to celebrate our successes and have some fun. This is something I try and nurture strongly at BMI The Hampshire Clinic.

Celebrating success is really important and celebrating what we have already achieved keeps our energy up for all the opportunities that are still there.

Energising the troops with success stories really helps us face the more challenging moments and I believe is an important leadership behaviour to instil in others.

I am a big believer in moving from 'good' to 'great', but never be complacent.

How does your role benefit the patients at BMI The Hampshire Clinic?

My role is a leadership role and an important aspect of it is to distil what our patients tell us and to ensure that we are continuously trying to improve. I am a big believer in moving from 'good' to 'great', but never be complacent. The old adage of it costs far more to gain a new customer than to keep an existing one and dissatisfied customers have far more friends than satisfied ones is always at the forefront of my mind. Even more so now that we have a new hospital that has opened up on our doorstep, so we must ensure our services are differentiated from the local completion.

What has been your biggest achievement at BMI The Hampshire Clinic?

It is the team that deserves the recognition. Together, we have created a team culture that enabled a 'good' overall with outstanding in care and surgery when recognised externally by the CQC. We deliver great outcomes, patient satisfaction and quote the number of people ranking us as excellent and very good. We have also been recognised in the Parliamentary Review as best practice exemplar in private Healthcare.

What activities do you enjoy outside of work?

My family is my number one priority outside of work. However, as many people know I keep bees as a hobby and I love the garden and outdoor pursuits. I believe bees have a lot to teach us both at work and at home.

I am fascinated by their organisational behaviour and the efficiency of the honey bee – a cohesive group of workers, where each individual appears to work diligently, yet unsupervised, at their appointed task, with no squabbling over choice of jobs, fighting over food or territorial disputes. Each year they guarantee their surplus (profit) – honey!